Circuit interrupter



J. E. SHRADER.

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER. APPLICATION FILED ocT. 30, 1919.

BY q/w 0 ATTORNEY Patented @cfm 3l, 1922.

.Patented Oct. l, 1922. I y

l UNITED STATES JAMES E. SHRADER, F EDGEWOOD PAR HOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING VANIA.

, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TESTING-` COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER.

V'Appllcation filed October 30, 1918. Serial No. 260,291.

To all whom. it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES SHRADER, a citizen of the United States, and a .resident of Edgewood Park, in the county of Alle,- gheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Circuit Interrupters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to circuit interrupters and particularly to arc-extinguishing means therefor. l One object of my invention is to provide means whereby negative ions 'are prevented from flowing between the contact members of a circuit interrupter when they are separated to thereby extinguish the arc thatv is drawn.

Another object of my invention is-to provide means of the above indicated character that shall be simple and inexpensive to con'- s'truct and effective in its operation.' f

In practicing my invention, I provide two cooperating contact members and means for causing streams of air or any suitable fluid to flow from the face of one to the face of thev other contact member when they are separated. The streams 'of fluid prevent negative ions from llowing between the contact members and, since the negative ions redominate inthe arc that is drawn, the arc 1s extinguished.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a diagrammatic view of a circuit interrupter embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic' view ofaa rectifier illustrating the principle of operation .of my 1nvention. y u

A circuit interrupter embodying myfV 1nvention .comprises two cooperating contact members 1 and 2 the contact member 1 of which is connected to .thepositive conductor of thecircuit and the contact member 2 of' stood to include any suitable fluid. IA valve 7 is provided for controlling the flow of air from the tank 6 through the 'openings 3 and 1t, in turn, is controlled by a link mechanism 8 that is actuated when the contact member 2 is moved out of engagement with the contact member 1. That is, the valve 7 is adapted'to be opened to permit streams of air to flow from the 7face of the contact member 2 to the face of the contact member 1 only when the contact members are separated.

It is a well known fact that, if a source of alternating current is connected across the terminal members 10 and 11 of the device shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings and a stream of air is projectedfrom the member 10 against the member 11, the load 12l will be supplied with direct current. That is, the stream of air during one part of the cycle assists negative ions to flow from the contact member 10 to the contact'member 11, and, during the other half of the cycle, prevents negative ions from flowing. In other words, since negative ions are permitted to flow only in one direction, the device constitutes a rectifier and the principle of operation may be applied to the direct-current circuit interrupter as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Since negative ions tend to low from the contact member 1 to the contact member 2 when the same are separated, the streams of kair directed from the contact member 2 prevent the flow of negative ions and thus ex tinguish the arc that is drawn when the con- 'tact members are separated. The openings 3 extend tothe sides of the contact member 2 to thus prevent fringing out of the arc and, since the arc cannot be maintained when the negative ions are neutralized, the air pressure serves a double purpose of extinguishing the arc and blowing the are gases out of engagement with the contact members.

My invention is not limited to the specific structure illustrated, as it maybe variously modified without departing from the spirit.

means for directing a streamI of fluid -normal to the face of the positive contact member 105 whereby the negatwe ions are precluded Jfrom fovving and the are that is drawn, when the Contact members are separated, is extinguished.

2. A direct-'current circuit interrupter ,comprising two cooperating contact mem- 3.4 A direct-current circuit r)interrupterl comprising two cooperating Contact mein; bers and means for directing streams ont i v fluidfroml the face and sides of the negative Contact member, when the contact members are separated,J to prevent the fojw of negative ions lfthei'ebetvveen.

4i. A direct-current circuit interruptert comprising two cooperating contact-members and means for directing a plurality of f streams of fluidfrom the face of the negative Contact member to the aceof the other when the are separated. i

En' testimony'vvhereo, have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th day of @m1, 1918. v

JAMES 1E. SHRADER. 

